Working on the customer experience in a global and unique way is no longer an option, but a necessity for medium-term survival for companies, whether they are B2C or B2B, service or product oriented.

A successful customer experience can simultaneously play on the three classic levers of revenue increase: loyalty, average basket increase and new customer acquisition. A satisfied customer will buy more, more often, will be more willing to accept new innovative services that he/she considers legitimate to pay for, and will become an ambassador of the brand/company to his/her network, thus participating in the conquest of new customers, and in a virtuous business circle.

The first challenge concerns customer knowledge. Start with the customer to get to the customer. Build the main types of customers and their specific characteristics in terms of expectations, preferences, consumption and value. Build their typical path through all channels, from the most traditional (distribution networks, website) to the newest (social networks). To gain relevance, these constructions must be “data centric”, based on real and observed data (commercial data, survey results…) and not on preconceived ideas often based on false historical beliefs. Hence the importance of evaluating the available data (volume, quality, reliability, accuracy) and adopting a data enrichment strategy to constantly deepen customer knowledge.

Secondly, it is key to establish a complete and objective assessment of the reality of the experience delivered to customers at all the major stages and interactions during their journey. This customer experience, whether it is relational, commercial or operational, allows us to rationally establish the comparison between the experience expected by the customer and the experience delivered by the company. And therefore to identify and prioritize the areas of improvement of the experience.

These areas of improvement must be built in a cross-functional and collective way to ensure consistency and fluidity in the customer experience, regardless of the channel or stage of the customer journey. The challenge is to create the conditions for a unique and memorable experience, a lever for differentiation and attachment.

Finally, the link between marketing, sales and services must be as fluid as possible. Optimizing the customer experience is a continuous improvement process involving many departments in the organization. This process requires a mindset and an organization that values innovation, agility, data and therefore the customer. It also requires fine-tuned management of the deployment process, and long-term support for the teams in the field to ensure that the new tools and processes are mastered, and to encourage the new practices to take root in the long term.